


The Better Option

by HCN



Category: Casino Royale (2006), James Bond (Craig movies), Skyfall (2012) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen, Vesper Lynd is Alive
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-19
Updated: 2016-07-19
Packaged: 2018-07-25 09:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7526563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HCN/pseuds/HCN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Séverine meets Vesper in the airport as she attempts to flee Italy and invites her back to return with her to China, where someone is waiting who wants to meet her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Better Option

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [timetospy's 007 fest prompt list](http://timetospy.tumblr.com/post/146749700865/prompt-list), for day 18: You think you could do better?

When Séverine found her she was already at the airport, waiting to board her plane. The woman didn’t have any carry-on luggage besides her purse, held so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were surely white by now. She stood hunched over, tensing every time someone came too close to her.

It wasn’t hard for Séverine to walk up behind her unseen, or to get close enough to say, quietly, “Miss Lynd? May I have a word with you?”

Vesper raised her head and turned to face Séverine. She was doing her best to hide her dread, and she might have been good at masking how she felt, but Séverine knew that particular type of helplessness well enough to spot it.

“Is there a problem?” Vesper asked.

“No,” Séverine said. “Don’t worry.”

Vesper looked her right in the eyes and asked, “Do you work for Mr White?”

“I know of him,” Séverine said. “I’m here to help you.”

She couldn’t tell if the shift in Vesper’s change was relief, or a fear of something worse. Séverine doubted that Vesper even knew herself. A good thing; Raoul did say it was always easier to convince someone over to one’s side if they were indecisive, which Vesper certainly seemed to be.

Vesper’s face hardened. “I have a plane to catch.”

“I have a better plane,” Séverine said. “A private one that can bring you anywhere you want.”

“Do you know where I’m going?”

“France,” Séverine said, looking up towards the board. “You think this is the safest choice?”

Vesper frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“I can help you,” Séverine said again. Noting the hesitation written across Vesper’s face, she added, “Do you have any better plans?”

“Why should I trust you? You barely look like you’ve finished school.”

“Because,” Séverine said, “who else would help you?” 

*

Vesper followed Séverine through the airport and then out to Raoul’s private jet. From the corner of her eye she could see her guards stationed throughout the terminal, waiting just in case they were needed. Someone took her purse (the only personal item she had with her) and after take-off, Séverine ordered someone to bring the women some drinks.

“Where are we going?” Vesper asked.

“China.”

“What’s in China?”

“My employer,” Séverine said. “He can help you.”

Séverine knew how this must look, really; she thought she’d done a good job of disguising how young she was, but Vesper picked up on it quickly. It had been a worry that she’d raised with Raoul, but he’d promised that it would fine. She hadn’t believed him at the time, but nonetheless Vesper followed Séverine with very little protest. Truly, Vesper was a desperate woman with nowhere to turn to.

“Who is your employer?” Vesper asked after some time, after finishing half her drink.

“He’s a powerful man,” Séverine said. “Not very unlike the men you’ve worked with recently.”

“And this is meant to comfort me.”

“Whether it does or not isn’t my concern,” Séverine said. “Although if you’re afraid, know that he won’t hurt you.”

“You can promise this?”

Séverine nodded. “If you do not want his help, or you do not like his terms, he won’t force you to do anything. He’ll even give you tickets to return to France, if you want, or anywhere you want to go.”

“He must be very confident that I’ll like what he has to offer,” Vesper said. “It wouldn’t be a very good investment otherwise.”

“Money isn’t a problem for him, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Séverine said, neglecting to mention that it was because Raoul didn’t need money to get what he wanted. All he needed was his laptop and some time, and anything he wanted was his to take.

Vesper looked around the plane. “I can see that.”

“You don’t think this is a good idea,” Séverine said. It wasn’t a question, merely an observation.

Vesper didn’t deny it, although she looked down at the table where her arms sat crossed in front of her. She was scared, and obviously so, even if she made the effort to pretend otherwise.

*

Thanks to Raoul’s interference, Séverine and Vesper passed through customs quite easily. There was someone waiting for them as they left the airport, and Séverine hurriedly waved Vesper into the backseat of the car Raoul hired for them.

“When do I meet your employer?” Vesper asked.

“Today,” Séverine said. “Don’t worry; you’ll have the chance to shower and change.”

“I don’t have anything to wear,” Vesper said. “All I own is what I have with me now.”

“That won’t be a problem,” Séverine said. “He’s arranged for everything.”

“Even what I’ll wear?” Vesper asked incredulously, sitting back in her seat and raising an eyebrow. “That’s terribly thoughtful of him. Is he always so… _generous_ with the people he… kidnaps?”

"Kidnaps!” Séverine said. A smile broke out across her face, and looking at the flash of fear that broke across Vesper’s face before she could push it down, Séverine could only imagine how her expression must look.

“He has no intention of kidnapping you,” Séverine said, forcing herself to control her voice and her face. “He won’t do anything to you that you don’t want to do. I promise.”

“How can you promise this?” Vesper asked. “For all I know, you’re part of the lure to draw me away.”

“My job is to bring you safely to Shanghai, to meet him,” Séverine said. “I know nothing I promise you will convince you that you’re safe, but I promise that if he wanted to do worse to you, he would not have bothered with all this.” She waved her hand around the car, and then out the window towards the hotel they were approaching.

Vesper took a minute to look outside, momentarily stunned by what she was seeing. Séverine couldn’t blame her; she had once been struck by the same awe as she realised what sort of life Raoul lived.

It was a useful trick, catching someone off guard with money and extravagance and drawing them out of their element. With Raoul, though, it wasn’t for show, nor was it solely to put people at ease. This type of luxury was really Raoul how lived, simply because he wanted it and he could afford it.

*

Séverine waited in the main room of the hotel for Vesper to finish showering and dressing. It took Séverine a notably shorter time to shower and make herself presentable, probably due to years of practice and a lack of nerves to make her hesitate. By the time Vesper stepped out, dressed in the elegant dress Raoul ordered for her, Séverine had been waiting for nearly an hour. Whatever Vesper was doing in her room, it had more to do with nerves than with getting ready.

“Sorry for taking so long,” Vesper said.

Séverine eyed the other woman over. She looked beautiful. It wasn’t that Séverine hadn’t noticed before, but there were much more pressing things on her mind like getting Vesper on the plane, and then getting her through customs. It all worked out in the end, just like Raoul said it would, but Séverine hadn’t had the opportunity to really look at Vesper – not like this.

And she was lovely.

The first pangs of doubt began to rise in Séverine’s chest. Why did Raoul really need this woman? She was an accountant – not someone terribly important! – and as far as Séverine saw, there was nothing about her that looked particularly promising. She was older than Séverine, and pretty, and she was desperate.

What wouldn’t Raoul like about that combination?

Vesper was still waiting for Séverine to say something.

“The dress suits you.”

Vesper straightened her back. She looked as though she wanted to be anywhere else, like she couldn’t even stand to be in her own skin.

“Thank you,” she said stiffly. “You look nice as well.”

Séverine looked down to the phone in her hand. “He’s ready when you are. Are you ready?”

Vesper nodded.

“Would you like a drink before you go to meet him?” Séverine asked, nodding towards the glass of wine that sat in front of her.

Vesper looked confused for a moment, but then shook her head.

Séverine stood. “Very well,” she said, leading Vesper to the door without bothering to offer any more reassurance.

*

Raoul stood as Séverine and Vesper were escorted across the restaurant towards his table.

“Séverine, darling,” he said, leaning in to kiss her on the cheek. She smiled to herself, bringing her face back to its usual impassive state as she pulled away.

Raoul turned his attention to Vesper. “And you must be Miss Lynd.”

“Hello,” Vesper said, extending a hand towards Raoul.

Raoul took her hand and pressed his lips against her skin, before letting her go and smiling. “Raoul Silva,” he said. “You look lovely tonight.”

“Thank you,” Vesper said. “And thank you for bringing here.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Raoul said. “I’m happy to see that you made the journey safely. That you were all right.”

She smiled, a weak smile. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me, and that you want to help me, but I really have to ask–”

“No, no,” Raoul said, cutting her off before she could go on. “There’s no need to discuss bout that yet. You look positively famished. When’s the last time you ate? Did you eat on the plane?”

Vesper shook her head.

“I can’t believe it,” Raoul said. He turned to Séverine. “You should have fed her.”

“I didn’t want anything,” Vesper said. The whole of the plane journey Vesper had looked positively sick with nerves; Séverine thought it best not to encourage the woman to eat anything, for fear that she might out of politeness only to get sick.

“Please, sit down,” Raoul said. He smiled at Vesper. “We’ll discuss everything soon.”

They sat down. Séverine tried to turn her attention to the menu but found herself unable to take her eyes away from Raoul, or from Vesper. Whereas it was clear that Vesper was on edge, waiting for whatever it was specifically that she thought would happen here, Raoul gave nothing away as he scanned the menu, occasionally recommending something to Vesper or Séverine.

After ordering, Raoul finally turned his attention back to Vesper.

“Your journey was okay?”

She nodded.

“And Séverine?”

“It was good to visit Europe again,” Séverine said. “I’ve never been to Italy.”

“Such a shame that you didn’t see more of it,” Raoul said. He looked back at Vesper. “How did you find Italy?”

“It was fine.”

“Yes,” Raoul said. “Before you had to meet with some of your friends.”

Vesper raised her head, watching Raoul for a moment. “My friends?”

“Mr White’s friends,” Raoul corrected himself. “I don’t consider the man to be a friend, personally. I don’t consider many people I work with to be. He’s someone I’ve not seen often, but I’ve heard things about him. Rumours, mostly.”

“He’s a colleague,” Vesper stated.

Raoul nodded, then laughed. “But it’s not like that, my dear,” he said. “At a certain point you find that you know everyone – everyone who matters as much as you do.”

“You’re important,” she said.

He nodded. “In some circles.”

She didn’t say anything to that, but Séverine could imagine what thoughts were circling through her head. Important was such a loaded word, and the way Vesper said it meant one thing more clearly than anything else – _dangerous_. She might think she knew what danger was, but she’d only just met Raoul.

If she did accept his offer to help, she’d learn soon enough what danger really meant.

“It’s how I heard of you,” Raoul said. “And I must say, you impressed me.”

Vesper raised her eyes to look at him. She looked dubious. “Impressed you?”

“Yes,” he said. “What you did – I can’t think of many women who could do that like you did. It’s dangerous work.”

Vesper shot a quick look to Séverine, then turned back. “I didn’t have a choice.”

“We so rarely do, you’ll find,” he said. “That doesn’t stop people from running.”

“Yes, well,” she said. “I’m running now.”

“I know,” he said. “And I want to help you.”

“I don’t mean to doubt your intentions,” Vesper said, “but you must understand how this looks. Why do you want to help me?”

“It would be a waste to see talent like yours locked away in England for treason,” Raoul said. “People like you are rare, and many are in positions where it would not interest them, what I have to offer.”

Vesper frowned. “That’s all?”

“Is that so hard to believe?”

It was, apparently – Vesper didn’t push the subject. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the offer, but it’s quite the risk.”

“Of course,” he said. “I don’t want you because what I do is safe, or easy, but because I think you can do it.”

She didn’t look like she liked that very much.

“Look around you,” he said. Vesper did, then turned back to Raoul. “Where would you go, if not with me?”

“I don’t know,” she said. “France, I suppose. Or some other country. Somewhere no one would look.”

“They would get bored eventually,” he said. “It would just be luck, whether or not the relevant people ever found you. You hear about it sometimes. Men who hide for years, but one person recognises them and reports it and everything they’ve worked for collapses. There are some who do well for themselves, of course, and you might be one of those people. But Miss Lynd, do you think you could do better for yourself than this?”

Séverine looked back to Vesper. She didn’t answer right away, but Séverine could see easily enough the look on Vesper’s face. Maybe it was born from insecurity, some fear Vesper had of pushing herself to really succeed, or maybe it was some innate knowledge that alone, Vesper wouldn’t become anything worth talking about. She knew the answer to Raoul’s question.

Even if she didn’t say anything out loud, her answer was written all across her face.


End file.
